In the history of mankind, many cultures have come and gone but Hinduism has withstood many challenges posed by the time and has spread all over the world. The secret of this success of Hindu(Sanatan Dharma) religion lies in the fact in its practical approach towards human life, belief in eternal truths, and modifications made without changing the basic beliefs

Monday, 16 December 2013

Significance of Lord Shiva in Hinduism

Of all the Hindu deities none have influenced Indian culture and
mentality that Lord Shiva, the ascetic dweller of the mountains and the
cosmic dancer, who with His third eye destroys evil. Lord Shiva
represents the destructive power of God in the Hindu trinity called the
Trimurthi along with Brahma and Vishnu. To followers of Shaivism, a
branch of Hinduism dedicated to Shiva, He is Parameswara or Maheswara –
Supreme Lord. Typically worshipped as Shivalinga, an abstract
representation of the Lord, Shiva is also worshipped in other forms such
as Nataraja, or Lord of Dance.

Lord Shiva in Hinduism

. The deity known as Rudra in the Vedas came to be
associated with Lord Shiva. The Indus Valley seals depicting a seated
yogi is generally agreed to be a prototype of Lord Shiva as known today.
It is believed that the worship of Lord Shiva was prevalent as early as
2nd or 3rd centuries B.C.There
are several references to Lord Shiva in the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Both Arjuna and Krishna worshipped Him to obtain favors. In fact, Arjuna
obtains Shiva’s astra or weapon known as Pashupata after performing
penance to Lord Shiva. In the Ramayana, the demon king Ravana is a great
devotee Lord Shiva, and Rama and Hanuman offer prayers to Lord Shiva at
Rameshwaram before embarking on their mission to rescue Sita from
Ravana.
With the popularity of Saivism a great deal of literature grew around
Lord Shiva and which came to be recognized as Agama literature. In the
Shvetashvatara Upanishad Lord Shiva was elevated to the status of
Brahman, or the Ultimate Reality, by the sages who composed it after
they had visions of Lord Shiva as the Absolute and Supreme Brahman.
Saivism as a popular movement took shape mainly in South India because
of the patronage of different dynasties such as the Pallavas and Cholas.
The devoted effort of many Tamil saints helped built a great collection
of bhakti or devotional literature in honor of Lord Shiva.

The Forms of Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva is known by many names and titles. As the god of
destruction, He is Rudra, literally ‘the Red One’, feared by one and
all. As Kailasanathar, He is the Lord of Mount Kailash, His Abode in the
Himalayas. As Purusha, He is Iswara, or the Ultimate Reality, Himself.
As the Lord of the beings, He is known as Pasupatinath. As the consort
of Uma, the Mother Goddess, He is known as Umapathi.
As the bearer of the sacred river Ganges, He is known as Ganagadhar.
Because of His matted hair, He is called Jatadhari by His ascetic
followers. As a perfect being He is Siddheshwar. With the trident in His
hands, He became popular as the heroic and fearless Trisuladhari. As
the world teacher, He was named Dakhshinamurthi by Adi Shankara.
As the Lord of Dance, He is well known as Nataraja. As the master of
yoga, He is credited with the source of all knowledge concerning the
various yogas. Such was His prowess and divinity that Lord Vishnu
Himself in His incarnations as Rama and Krishna worshipped Him with
great reverence. Ever willing to help those who are in distress, He
saved the worlds and all the gods by drinking the poison Halahal that
was created during the churning of the oceans, a feat that turned his
throat blue and earned him the name Neelakanthan, or blue-throated one.
Lord Shiva was also dear to demons, as he was easily pleased and
granted boons freely to devotees. Demons like Ravana and Hiranyakashipu
were His ardent followers who became infinitely powerful due to the
various boons we granted them out of an unbounded love. To the followers
of Vira Saiva cult, He is Virabhadra, valor personified. In His
terrific forms, He is worshipped as Bhairavamurthy and Pataleswar.
While Lord Shiva is worshipped as a symbol of sexual vitality, He is
also known to have destroyed the physical form of love, Kama, with His
third eye when the latter tried to interrupt His meditation. Loved by
His children Ganesha and Skanda, and followed by His dutiful wife
Parvathi, He became a symbol of ideal householder to His devotees
despite of His well known image as the ideal ascetic.
Men and women love Him alike for his unsurpassed qualities of love
and generosity. Even today many young and unmarried girls in rural India
worship Lord Shiva and pray for a devoted husband like Him. Combining
both the male and female aspects of creation in Himself, Lord Shiva
earned the popular name of Ardhanariswara. As rider of the bull Nandi,
He is known to the world as Nandeswara.

Temples of Lord Shiva

Temples dedicated to Lord Shiva are found all over India and
elsewhere. As early as the 2nd century AD, the fame of Lord Shiva had
spread beyond the Indian subcontinent to Central Asia. As Hindu culture
spread, Shiva temples were built in places like Java, Champa
(Indo-China), Kambhoja ( present day Cambodia) and in other areas as
early as 5th Century A.D.
Great temples dedicated to Lord Shiva were also built in South India
by the Cholas and other great empires of Tamil Nadu. Many of these grand
temples, including Chidambaram, Thanjavur, Rameshwaram, Kumbakonam,
Kanchipuram and Varanasi, remain popular even to this day.

Goddess Durga

The Mother Goddess & Her Symbolism

Goddess Durga is the mother of the universe and believed to be the power behind
the work of creation, preservation, and destruction of the world. Since time
immemorial she has been worshipped as the supreme power of the
Supreme Being and has been mentioned in many scriptures - Yajur
Veda, Vajasaneyi Samhita and Taittareya Brahman.

The Meaning of "Durga"

The word "Durga" in Sanskrit means a fort, or a place which is difficult
to overrun. Another meaning of "Durga" is "Durgatinashini,"
which literally translates into "the one who eliminates sufferings."
Thus, Hindus believe that goddess Durga protects her devotees from the evils
of the world and at the same time removes their miseries.

The Many Forms of Durga

There are many incarnations of Durga: Kali, Bhagvati, Bhavani, Ambika, Lalita,
Gauri, Kandalini, Java, Rajeswari, et al. Durga incarnated as the united power
of all divine beings, who offered her the required physical attributes and weapons
to kill the demon "Mahishasur". Her nine appellations are Skondamata, Kusumanda, Shailaputri, Kaalratri, Brahmacharini, Maha Gauri, Katyayani, Chandraghanta and Siddhidatri.

Durga's Many Arms

Durga is depicted as having eight or ten hands. These represent eight quadrants
or ten directions in Hinduism. This suggests that she protects the devotees
from all directions.

Durga's Three Eyes

Like Shiva, Mother Durga is also referred to as "Triyambake" meaning
the three eyed Goddess. The left eye represents desire (the moon), the right
eye represents action (the sun), and the central eye knowledge (fire).

Durga's Vehicle - the Lion

The lion represents power, will and determination. Mother Durga riding the lion
symbolises her mastery over all these qualities. This suggests to the devotee
that one has to possess all these qualities to get over the demon of ego.

Durga's Many Weapons

The conch shell in Durga's hand symbolizes the 'Pranava' or the mystic word
'Om', which indicates her holding on to God in the form of sound.

The bow and arrows represent energy. By holding both the bow and arrows
in one hand "Mother Durga" is indicating her control over both aspects
of energy - potential and kinetic.

The thunderbolt signifies firmness. The devotee of Durga must be firm like
thunderbolt in one's convictions. Like the thunderbolt that can break anything
against which it strikes, without being affected itself, the devotee needs
to attack a challenge without losing his confidence.

The lotus in Durga's hand is not in fully bloomed, It symbolizing certainty
of success but not finality. The lotus in Sanskrit is called "pankaja"
which means born of mud. Thus, lotus stands for the continuous evolution of
the spiritual quality of devotees amidst the worldly mud of lust and greed.

The "Sudarshan-Chakra" or beautiful discus, which spins around
the index finger of the Goddess, while not touching it, signifies that the
entire world is subservient to the will of Durga and is at her command. She
uses this unfailing weapon to destroy evil and produce an environment conducive
to the growth of righteousness.

The sword that Durga holds in one of her hands symbolizes knowledge, which
has the sharpness of a sword. Knowledge which is free from all doubts, is
symbolized by the shine of the sword.

Durga's trident or "trishul" is a symbol of three qualities -
Satwa (inactivity), Rajas (activity) and Tamas (non-activity) - and she is
remover of all the three types of miseries - physical, mental and spiritual.

Devi Durga stands on a lion in a fearless pose of "Abhay Mudra",
signifying assurance of freedom from fear. The universal mother seems to be
saying to all her devotees: "Surrender all actions and duties onto me and I shall release thee
from all fears".

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

What is the meaning of a Swastika?

How the Word is Derived

In Sanskrit, the proper spelling of the word swastika is svastika.
Sanskrit has no 'w'. Literally, the word svastika is
a statement of affirmation, "It is!" "Life is good!" "There
is value" "There is meaning!" Svastika is a term
that affirms the positive values of life. The word is made
of su + as. "As" is the root of
the copular verb "to be" of which the third person singular
is, "asti," "it is." Su is a prefix used
in Sanskrit to intensify meaning in a positive way, thus su+asti means literally, "it really is!" When combined, the 'u' changes
into a 'v' thus giving the form svasti. The ending 'ka' makes
this verbal form into a noun. This is the linguistic morphology
of the word, svastika.

A Negative Symbol

Right Handed Swastika

Today, the Swastika is primarily known as
a symbol of racism, persecution and anti semitism, which, primarily,
arises from the ideology of the German Nazi party and World War II. I
remember performing a wedding between a Hindu girl and a Jewish boy.
Right at the beginning of the ceremony, when it is traditional to hold a
decorative cloth between the boy and girl, the Hindu mother proudly
presented a special cloth with a huge red Swastika in the middle that
she wanted me to hold between the couple. Half the audience was Jewish!
Another time, I performed a ground-breaking ceremony for a Hindu family,
who was going to build a new home in an exclusive gated community. The
man had me draw a large red Swastika on the ground where the house would
be built. Later, as we were walking around the perimeter of the
property, someone came walking a dog and saw the red Swastika. In
terror, this person called the police thinking that a neo-Nazi cult was
moving into his neighborhood. On many occasions, I have had to explain
to confused fire and building inspectors why there are Swastikas in our
Hindu temples. As a priest, I regularly bless people using the
expression, svasti
svasti svasti! and even inscribe swastikas on the heads of newly shaved babies for their health and prosperity!

Its History

A Nazi Swastika

In fact, the Swastika is an
ancient solar symbol that has been used by many cultures going back at
least 3000 years. It has been found used by the celts in northern Europe
and by the Greeks as early has 1000 BCE. In India the symbol has been
used since Vedic times. It is most commonly seen as an ancient Aryan
symbol. Nazi Germany did not invent the symbol, but only borrowed it in
order to show the "aryan" roots of their new German state. Today,
unfortunately, the Swastika is most commonly known for the destruction
of life rather then its affirmation.

Its Use in India

Left Handed Swastika

In India, the Swastika is used in two forms, one with the
arms moving to the right, the right-handed Swastika, and
the other with the arms moving to the left, the so-called "left-handed" occult
Swastika. It is commonly thought that the Nazis used the left-handed
Swastika and that this is the difference between the Hindu's
use of the Swastika and the Nazi's use of it. But this
is not the case. In fact, the Nazis used the same right-handed
Swastika that is used in modern Hinduism, but gave it a
45 degree turn. This gives it the appearance
of being left-handed, even though it is not. Regardless,
in India many groups have used the left-handed Swastika. One
common example amongst Hindu groups is the Theosophical
Society, which used it on their logo. The left-handed Swastika
is also associated with esoteric tantric practices.
Jains and Buddhists often use the left handed Swastika
as well. Today the right-handed Swastika
is mainly used in Hindu temples, homes and sacred ceremonies as
a symbol or affirmation of good luck, health and prosperity.
A "yes" to
life!

Friday, 6 December 2013

Vedic Roots of China and Japan

The cultural relations between India and China can be traced back to
very early times. There are numerous references to China in Sanskrit
texts, but their chronology is sketchy. The Mahabharata refers to
China several times, including a reference to presents brought by the
Chinese at the Rajasuya Yajna of the Pandavas; also, the Arthasastra
and the Manusmriti mention China. According to French art historian
Rene Grousset, the name China comes from "an ancient" Sanskrit name
for the regions to the east, and not, as often supposed, from the name
of the state of Ch'in," the first dynasty established by Shih Huang Ti
in 221 B.C. The Sanskrit name Cina for China could have been derived
from the small state of that name in Chan-si in the northwest of
China, which flourished in the fourth century B.C. Scholars have
pointed out that the Chinese word for lion, shih, used long before the
Chin dynasty, was derived from the Sanskrit word, simha, and that the
Greek word for China, Tzinista, used by some later writers, appears to
be derivative of the Sanskrit Chinasthana. According to Terence Duke,
martial arts went from India to China. Fighting without weapons was a
specialty of the ancient Ksatriya warriors of India.
Until recently, India and China had coexisted peacefully for over two
thousand years. This amicable relationship may have been nurtured by
the close historical and religious ties of Buddhism, introduced to
China by Indian monks at a very early stage of their respective
histories, although there are fragmentary records of contacts anterior
to the introduction of Buddhism. The Chinese literature of the third
century is full of geographic and mythological elements derived from
India.

Bhaarat: Teacher of China
Hinduism and Buddhism, both have had profound effect on religious and
cultural life of China. Chinese early religion was based on nature and
had many things in common with Vedic Hinduism, with a pantheon of
deities.
The story of Sun Hou Tzu, the Monkey King, and Hsuang Tsang. It is a
vicarious and humorous tale, an adventure story akin to the Hindu epic
of Ramayana, and like Ramayana, a moral tale of the finer aspects of
human endeavor which come to prevail over those of a less worthy
nature. The book ends with a dedication to India: 'I dedicate this
work to Buddha's Pure Land. May it repay the kindness of patron and
preceptor, may it mitigate the sufferings of the lost and damned....'
(source: Eastern Wisdom, Michael Jordan, p. 134-151)
Hu Shih, (1891-1962), Chinese philosopher in Republican China. He was
ambassador to the U.S. (1938-42) and chancellor of Peking University
(1946-48). He said:
"India conquered and dominated China culturally for two thousand years
without ever having to send a single soldier across her border."
Lin Yutang, author of The Wisdom of China and India:
"The contact with poets, forest saints and the best wits of the land,
the glimpse into the first awakening of Ancient India's mind as it
searched, at times childishly and naively, at times with a deep
intuition, but at all times earnestly and passionately, for the
spiritual truths and the meaning of existence - this experience must
be highly stimulating to anyone, particularly because the Hindu
culture is so different and therefore so much to offer." Not until we
see the richness of the Hindu mind and its essential spirituality can
we understand India...."
"India was China's teacher in religion and imaginative literature, and
the world's teacher in trigonometry, quadratic equations, grammar,
phonetics, Arabian Nights, animal fables, chess, as well as in
philosophy, and that she inspired Boccaccio, Goethe, Herder,
Schopenhauer, Emerson, and probably also old Aesop."
(source: The Wisdom of China and India, Lin Yutang, p. 3-4)
"I see no reason to doubt," comments Arthur Waley in his book, The
Way and its Power, "that the 'holy mountain-men' (sheng-hsien) described
by Lieh Tzu are Indian rishi; and when we read in Chuang Tzu of
certain Taoists who practiced movements very similar to the asanas of
Hindu yoga, it is at least a possibility that some knowledge of the
yoga technique which these rishi used had also drifted into China."
Both Sir L. Wooley and British historian Arnold Toynbee speak of an
earlier ready-made culture coming to China. They were right. That was
the Vedic Hindu culture from India with its Sanskrit language and
sacred scripts. The contemporary astronomical expertise of the
Chinese, as evidenced by their records of eclipses; the philosophy of
the Chinese, their statecraft, all point to a Vedic origin. That is
why from the earliest times we find Chinese travelers visiting India
very often to renew their educational and spiritual links.
"Neo-Confucianism was stimulated in its development by a number of
Buddhist ideas. Certain features of Taoism, such as its canon and
pantheon, was taken over from Buddhism. Works and phrases in the
Chinese language owe their origin to terms introduced by Buddhism.
while in astronomical, calendrical, and medical studies the Chinese
benefited from information introduced by Indian Buddhist monks.
Finally, and most important of all, the religious life of the Chinese
was affected profoundly by the doctrines and practices, pantheon and
ceremonies brought in by the Indian religion."
(source: Buddhism in China, Kenneth Ch'en, p. 3)
How China was part of the Indian Vedic empire is explained by
Professor G. Phillips on page 585 in the 1965 edition of the Journal
of the Royal Asiatic Society. He remarks,
"The maritime intercourse of India and China dates from a much earlier
period, from about 680 B.C. when the sea traders of the Indian Ocean
whose chiefs were Hindus founded a colony called Lang-ga, after the
Indian named Lanka of Ceylon, about the present gulf of Kias-Tehoa,
where they arrived in vessels having prows shaped like the heads of
birds or animals after the pattern specified in the Yukti Kalpataru
(an ancient Sanskrit technological text) and exemplified in the ships
and boats of old Indian arts."
Chinese historian Dr. Li-Chi also discovered an astonishing
resemblance between the Chinese clay pottery and the pottery
discovered at Mohenjo daro on the Indian continent. Yuag Xianji,
member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference,
speaking at the C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar Foundation, Madras, March 27
1984 said, "Recent discoveries of ruins of Hindu temples in Southeast
China provided further evidence of Hinduism in China. Both Buddhism
and Hinduism were patronized by the rulers. In the 6th century A.D.
the royal family was Hindu for two generations. The following Tang
dynasty (7th to the 9th century A.D.) also patronized both Hinduism
and Buddhism because the latter was but a branch of Hinduism.
Religious wars were unknown in ancient China.
Through its compassionate Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and its promise of
salvation to all alike, its emphasis on piety, meditation, its
attractive rituals and festivals, its universality and its tolerance,
"the religious life of the Chinese has been enriched, deepened,
broadened, and made more meaningful in terms of human sympathy, love,
and compassion for all living creatures." The doctrine of karma
brought spiritual consolation to innumerable people. The concept of
karma is to be found in all types of Chinese literature from poetry to
popular tales.
India never imposed her ideas or culture on any nation by military
force, not even on the small countries in her neighborhood, and in the
case of China, it would have been virtually impossible to do so since
China has been the more powerful of the two. So the expansion of
Indian culture into China is a monument to human understanding and
cultural co-operation - the outcome of a voluntary quest for learning.
While China almost completely suppressed other foreign religions, such
as Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity, and to some extent
Manichaeanism, she could not uproot Buddhism. At times, Buddhism was
persecuted, but for two thousand years it continued to indianize
Chinese life even after it had ceased to be a vital force in the
homeland and long after it had lost its place as the dominant religion
of China. In fact, Indianization became more powerful and effective
after it was thought that Buddhism had been killed in China.
The introduction of Buddhism is one of the most important events in
Chinese history, and since its inception it has been a major factor in
Chinese civilization. The Chinese have freely acknowledged their debt
to India, often referring to her as the "Teacher of China," and
Chinese Buddhists have pictured India as a Western Paradise,
Sukhavati. That Chinese philosophy blossomed afresh after the impact
of Buddhism indicates both a response to and a borrowing of Indian
ideas. The advent of Buddhism meant for many Chinese a new way of
life, and for all Chinese, a means of reassessing their traditional
beliefs. A new conception of the universe developed, and the entire
Chinese way of life was slowly but surely altered. The change was so
gradual and so universal that few people realized it was happening.
The Chinese Quietists practiced a form of self-hypnosis which has an
indisputably close resemblance to Indian Yoga. The Chinese Taoist
philosopher Liu-An (Huai-nan-tzu) who died in 122 B.C. makes use "of
a cosmology in his book which is clearly of Buddhist inspiration."
The first mention of India to be found in Chinese records is in
connection with the mission to Ta-hsia (Bacteriana) of a talented and
courageous Chinese envoy, Chang Chien (Kien), about 138 B.C. Fourteen
years later, having escaped after ten years as a captive of the Huns,
he returned home and in his report to the Chinese Emperor he referred
to the country of Shen-tu (India) to the southeast of the Yueh-chih
(Jou-Chih) country. There are other traditional stories suggestive of
earlier links, but Chang Chien's reference to Indian trade with the
southwestern districts of China along the overland route corresponding
to the modern Yunnan road indicates the existence of some sort of
commercial relations well before the second century B.C. The find of
Chinese coins at Mysore, dated 138 B.C. suggests maritime relations
between India and China existed in the second century B.C. Passages in
a Chinese text vaguely refer to Chinese trade relations with countries
in the China Sea and Indian Ocean, such as Huang-che (Kanchi or a
place in the Ganges delta), as well as to the exchange of diplomatic
missions.Trade & Commerce
There can be little dispute that trade was the main motivation for
these early contacts. This is supported by finds of beads and pottery,
in addition to specific references in historical texts. By the early
centuries of the Christian era, Sino-Indian trade appears to have
assumed considerable proportions. Chinese silk, Chinamsuka, and later
porcelain were highly prized in India, and Indian textiles were sold
in southwest China. The similarity between the Chinese and Indian
words for vermilion and bamboo, ch'in-tung and ki-chok, and sindura
and kichaka, also indicates commercial links. At least by the fifth
century, India was exporting to China wootz steel (wootz from the
Indian Kanarese word ukku), which was produced by fusing magnetic iron
by carbonaceous matter.
With goods came ideas. It has often been contended that merchants were
not likely to have been interested in philosophy or capable of the
exchange of ideas. This is an erroneous belief which disregards
historical evidence and, as Arthur Waley points out, is "derived from
a false analogy between East and West. It is quite true that Marco
Polo 'songeait surtout a son negoce'. But the same can hardly be said
of Indian or Chinese merchants. Buddhist legend, for example, teems
with merchants reputedly capable of discussing metaphysical questions;
and in China Lu Puwei, compiler of philosophical encyclopedia Lu Shih
Ch'un Chiu, was himself a merchant. Legend even makes a merchant of
Kuan Chung; which at any rate shows that philosophy and trade were not
currently supposed to be incompatible."
Land and Sea Routes
The art of shipbuilding and navigation in India and China at the time
was sufficiently advanced for oceanic crossings. Indian ships
operating between Indian and South-east Asian ports were large and
well equipped to sail cross the Bay of Bengal. When the Chinese
Buddhist scholar, Fa-hsien, returned from India, his ship carried a
crew of more than two hundred persons and did not sail along the
coasts but directly across the ocean. Such ships were larger than
those Columbus used to negotiate the Atlantic a thousand years later.
Uttaraptha was the Sanskrit name of the ancient highway which
connected India with China, Russia and Persia (Iran). The trade routes
between China and India, by both land and sea, were long and perilous,
often requiring considerably more than two years to negotiate. The
overland routes were much older and more often used, but the sea
routes gained popularity with progress in shipbuilding and seamanship.
Formidable and frightening as the physiography of the land routes was,
the traffic through the passes and along the circuitous routes around
the mountains was fairly vigorous.
According to the work of medieval times, Yukti Kalpataru, which gives
a fund of information about shipbuilding, India built large vessels
from 200 B.C. to the close of the sixteenth century. A Chinese
chronicler mentions ships of Southern Asia that could carry as many as
one thousand persons, and were manned mainly by Malayan crews.
Long before the northwestern routes were opened about the second
century B.C. and long before the development of these indianized
states, there were two other routes from India to China. One of these
began at Pataliputra (modern Patna), passed through Assam (Kamarupa of
old) and Upper Burma near Bhamo, and proceeded over the mountains and
across the river valleys to Yunnanfu (Kunming), the main city of the
southern province of China. The other route lay through Nepal and
Tibet, was developed much later in the middle of the seventh century
when Tibet had accepted Buddhism.
In addition to land routes, there was an important sea link between
India and China through Southeast Asia. During the course of the first
few centuries of the Christian era, a number of Indianized states had
been founded all over Southeast Asia. Both cultures met in this
region, and the Indianized states served as an intermediary stave for
the further transmission of Indian culture and Buddhism to China.
Ancient Greek geographers knew of Southeast Asia and China (Thinae)
were accessible by sea. Ptolemy mentions an important but unidentified
Chinese port on the Tonkinese coast. Ports on the western coast of
India were Bharukaccha (Broach); Surparka (Sopara); Kalyana; on the
Bay of Bengal at the mouth of the Kaveripattam (Puhar); and at the
mouth of the Ganges, Tamaralipti (Tamluk). At least two of these ports
on the Bay of Bengal - Kaveripattam and Tamaralipti - were known to
the Greek sailors as Khaberos and Tamalitis. At first Indian ships
sailed to Tonkin (Kiao-Che) which was the principal port of China,
Tonkin being a Chinese protectorate. Later all foreign ships were
required to sail to Canton in China proper. Canton became a prosperous
port and from the seventh century onward the most important landing
place for Buddhist monks arriving from India. Generally Chinese monks
set out for the famous centers of learning in India, like the
University of Taxila, and Nalanda.
India had census enumeration earlier than China, since such
enumeration is mentioned in Kautilya's Arthasastra (see study Coates-Caton10.doc). China had its
first census in 2 A.D.Contributions
Mathematics: "The Chinese were familiar with Indian mathematics, and,
in fact, continued to study it long after the period of intellectual
intercourse between India and China had ceased." (source: Cited in
Sarkar, Hindu Achievements in Exact Science, p. 14)
Literature: The great literary activity of the Buddhist scholars
naturally had a permanent influence on Chinese literature, one of the
oldest in the world. In a recent study a Chinese scholar Lai Ming,
says that a significant feature in the development of Chinese
literature has been the "the immense influence of Buddhist literature
on the development of every sphere of Chinese literature since the
Eastern Chin period (317 A.D.)." The Buddhist sutras were written in
combined prose and rhymed verse, a literary form unknown in China at
the time. The Chinese language when pronounced in the Sanskrit
polyphonic manner was likely to sound hurried and abrupt, and to chant
the Sanskrit verses in monophthongal Chinese prolonged the verse so
much the rhymes were lost. Hence, to make the Chinese sutras pleasant
to listen to, the Chinese language had to be modified to accommodate
Sanskrit sounds. Consequently, in 489, Yung Ming, Prince of Ching
Ling, convened a conference of Buddhist monks at his capital to
differentiate between, and define the tones of, the Chinese language
for reading Buddhist sutras and for changing the verses. A new theory
emerged called the Theory of Four Tones.
Mythology: The Chinese sense of realism was so intense that there was
hardly any mythology in ancient China, and they have produced few
fairy tales of their own. Most of their finest fairy tales were
originally brought to China by Indian monks in the first millennium.
The Buddhists used them to make their sermons more agreeable and
lucid. The tales eventually spread throughout the country, assuming a
Chinese appearance conformable to their new environment. For example,
the stories of Chinese plays such as A Play of Thunder-Peak, A Dream
of Butterfly, and A Record of Southern Trees were of Buddhist origin.
Drama: Chinese drama assimilated Indian features in three stages.
First, the story, characters, and technique were all borrowed from
India; later, Indian technique gave way to Chinese; and finally, the
story was modified and the characters became Chinese also. There are
many dimensions to Chinese drama, and it is not easy to place them
accurately in history. However, the twelfth century provides the
first-known record of the performance of a play, a Buddhist miracle-
play called Mu-lien Rescues his Mother based on an episode in the
Indian epic, the Mahabharata. The subject matter of the Buddhist
adaptation of the story, in which Maudgalyayana (Mu-lien in Chinese)
rescues the mother from hell, occurs in a Tun-huang pien wen.
Significantly, the play was first performed at the Northern Sung
capital by professionals before a religious festival.
Grammar: Phrases and words coined by Buddhist scholars enriched the
Chinese vocabulary by more than thirty-five thousand words. As the
assimilation was spread over a long period of time, the Chinese
accepted these words as a matter of course without even suspecting
their foreign origin. Even today words of Buddhist origin are widely
used in China from the folklore of peasants to the formal language of
the intelligentsia. For example, poli for glass in the name of many
precious and semi-precious stones is of Sanskrit origin. Cha-na, an
instant, from kshana; t'a, pagoda, from stupa; mo-li, jasmine, from
mallika, and terms for many trees and plants are amongst the many
thousands of Chinese words of Indian origin. Indian grammar also
undoubtedly stimulated Chinese philological study. Chinese script
consists of numerous symbols, which in their earliest stage were
chiefly pictographic and ideographic.
The word used in the old Sanskrit for the Chinese Emperor is deva-
putra, which is an exact translation of 'Son of Heaven.' I-tsing, a
famous pilgrim, himself a fine scholar of Sanskrit, praises the
language and says it is respected in far countries in the north and
south. ..'How much more then should people of the divine land (China),
as well as the celestial store house (India), teach the real rules of
the language.'
Jawaharlal Nehru has commented:
"Sanskrit scholarship must have been fairly widespread in China. It is
interesting to find that some Chinese scholars tried to introduce
Sanskrit phonetics into the Chinese language. A well-known example of
this is that of the monk Shon Wen, who lived at the time of the Tang
dynasty. He tried to develop an alphabetical system along these lines
in Chinese."
(source: The Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, p. 197-198)
Art: Indian art also reached China, mainly through Central Asia,
although some works of Buddhist art came by sea. Monks and their
retinues, and traders brought Buddha statues, models of Hindu temples,
and other objects of art to China. Fa-hsien made drawings of images
whilst at Tamaralipti. Hsuang Tsang returned with several golden and
sandalwood figures of the Buddha; and Hui-lun with a model of the
Nalanda Mahavihara. Wang Huan-ts'e, who went to India several times,
collected many drawings of Buddhist images, including a copy of the
Buddha image at Bodhgaya; this was deposited at the Imperial palace
and served as a model of the image in Ko-ngai-see temple. The most
famous icon of East Asian Buddhism know as the "Udayana" image was
reported to have been brought by the first Indian missionaries in 67,
although there are various legends associated with this image and many
scholars believe it was brought by Kumarajiva. However, this influx of
Indian art was incidental and intermittent, and was destined to be
absorbed by Chinese art. This combination resulted in a Buddhist art
of exceptional beauty.
One of the most famous caves - Ch'ien-fo-tung, "Caves of the Thousand
Buddhas," because there are supposed to be more than a thousand caves.
So far, about five hundred caves have been discovered. These caves
were painted throughout with murals, and were frequently furnished
with numerous Buddha statues and sculptured scenes from the Jatakas.
Many other caves were initiated in the reign of Toba Wei Emperor, T'ai
Wu. Some also contain images of Hindu deities, such as Shiva on Nandi
and Vishnu on Garuda.
Images coming from India were considered holy, as suggested by Omura,
in his History of Chinese Sculpture. This significantly underlines the
depth of Chinese acceptance of Indian thought.
Music: The Chinese did not regard music as an art to be cultivated
outside the temples and theatres. Buddhist monks who reached China
brought the practice of chanting sacred texts during religious rites.
Hence, Indian melody was introduced into Chinese music which had
hitherto been rather static and restrained. Indian music was so
popular in China, that Emperor Kao-tsu (581-595) tried unsuccessfully
to proscribe it by an Imperial decree. His successor Yang-ti was also
very fond of Indian music. In Chinese annals, references are found to
visiting Indian musicians, who reached China from India, Kucha,
Kashgar, Bokhara and Cambodia. Even Joseph Needham, the well-known
advocate of Chinese cultural and scientific priority admits, "Indian
music came through Kucha to China just before the Sui period and had a
great vogue there in the hands of exponents such as Ts'ao Miao-ta of
Brahminical origin." By the end of the sixth century, Indian music had
been given state recognition. During the T'ang period, Indian music
was quite popular, especially the famous Rainbow Garment Dance melody.
A contemporary Chinese poet, Po Chu-yi, wrote a poem in praise of
Indian music. "It is little wonder," an official publication of the
Chinese Republic says, "that when a Chinese audience today hears
Indian music, they feel that while possessing a piquant Indian flavor
it has a remarkable affinity with Chinese music."
Science: A major Buddhist influence on Chinese science was in
scientific thought itself. Buddhist concepts, such as the infinity of
space and time, and the plurality of worlds and of time-cycles or
Hindu Kalpas (chieh) had a stimulating effect on Chinese inquiry,
broadening the Chinese outlook and better equipping it to investigate
scientific problems. For example, the Hindu doctrine of pralayas, or
recurrent world catastrophes in which sea and land were turned upside
down before another world was recreated to go through the four cycles-
differentiation (ch'eng), stagnation (chu), destruction (juai), and
emptiness (kung) - which was later adopted by Neoconfucianists, was
responsible for the Chinese recognition of the true nature of fossils
long before they were understood in Europe. Again, the Indian doctrine
of Karma (tso-yeh), or metempsychosis, influenced Chinese scientific
thought on the process of biological change involving both phylogeny
and ontogeny. Buddhist iconography contained a biological element.
Buddhism introduced a highly developed theory of logic, both formal
and dialectical, and of epistemology.
Tantric Buddhism reached China in the eighth century and the greatest
Chinese astronomer and mathematician of his time, I-hsing (682-727),
was a Tantric Buddhist monk. While the work of Indian mathematicians
was carried westward by the Arabs and transmitted to Europe, it was
taken eastward by Indian Buddhist monks and professional
mathematicians.
Astronomy: There is also some evidence that works on Indian astronomy
were in circulation in China well before the T'ang period. In the
annuals of the Sui dynasty, numerous Chinese translations of Indian
mathematical and astronomical works are mentioned, such as Po-lo-men
Suan fa (The Hindu Arithmetical rules) and Po-lo-men Suan King. These
works have vanished, and it is impossible to assess the degree of
their influence on Chinese sciences. However, there is definite
evidence of Indian influence on Chinese astronomy and calendar studies
during the T'ang dynasty. During this period, Indian astronomers were
working at the Imperial Bureau of Astronomy which was charged with
preparing accurate calendars. Yang Ching-fang, a pupil of Amoghavajra
(Pu-k'ung), wrote in 764 that those who wished to know the positions
of the five planets and predict what Hsiu (heavenly mansion) a planet
would be traversing, should adopt the Indian calendrical methods. Five
years earlier, Amoghavajra had translated an Indian astrological work,
the Hsiu Yao Ching (Hsiu and Planet Sutra), into Chinese.
At the time there were three astronomical schools at Chang-an: Gautama
(Chhuthan), Kasyapa (Chiayeh), and Kumara (Chumolo). In 684 one of the
members of the Gautama school, Lo presented a calendar, Kuang-tse-li,
which has been in use for three years, to the Empress Wu. Later, in
718, another member of the school, Hsi-ta (Siddhartha), presented to
the Emperor a calendar, Chiu-che-li, which was almost a direct
translation of an Indian calendar, Navagraha Siddhanta of
Varahamihira, and which is still preserved in the T'ang period
collection. It was in use for four years. In 729 Siddhartha compiled a
treatise based on this calendar which is the greatest known collection
of ancient Chinese astronomical writings. This was the first time that
a zero symbol appeared in a Chinese text, but, even more important,
this work also contained a table of sines, which were typically
Indian. I-hsing (682-727) was associated with the Kumara school and
was much influenced by Indian astronomy. Indian influence can also be
seen in the nine planets he introduced into his calendar, Ta-yen-li.
The nine planets included the sun, moon, five known planets, and two
new planets, Rahu and Ketu, by which the Indian astronomers
represented the ascending and descending nodes of the moon.
Medicine: According to Terence Duke, "Many Buddhists were familiar
with the extensive knowledge of surgery common to Indian medicine and
this aided them both in spreading the teachings and in their practice
of diagnosis and therapy. Surgical technique was almost unknown within
China prior to the arrival of Buddhism." The renowned Buddhist teacher
Nagarjuna is said to have translated at least two traditional works
dealing with healing and medicines in the first centuries of our era.
A section of his Maha-Prajnaparamita Sutra is quoted by the Chinese
monk I-tsing in his commentary upon the five winds (Chinese: Wu Fung;
Japanese: Gofu)."
(source: The Boddhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner Philosophy,
History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art Within India and
China, p. 139-145)
Evidence of Indian influence on Chinese medicine is even more
definite. A number of Indian medical treatises are found in Chinese
Buddhist collections: for example, the Ravanakumaratantra and
Kasyapasamhita. From its very inception, Buddhism stressed the
importance of health and the prevention and cure of mental and
physical ailments. Indian medical texts were widely known in Central
Asia, where parts of the original texts on Ayur Veda have been found
as well as numerous translations.
The T'ang emperors patronized Indian thaumaturges (Tantric Yogis) who
were believed to possess secret methods of rejuvenation. Wang Hsuan-
chao, who returned to India after the death of King Harsha had been
charged by the Chinese Emperor in 664 to bring back Indian medicines
and physicians.
Considering that Indian medicine, especially operative surgery, was
highly developed for the time, it is not surprising that the Chinese,
like the Arabs, were captivated by Indian medical skills and drugs.
Castration was performed by Chinese methods but other surgical
techniques, such as laparotomy, trepanation, and removal of cataracts,
as well as inoculation for smallpox, were influenced by Indian
practices.
Acupuncture: In modern day acupuncture lore, there is recounted a
legend that the discovery of the vital bodily points began within
India as a result of combative research studies undertaken by the
Indian ksatriya warriors in order to discover the vital (and deadly)
points of the body which could be struck during hand-to-hand
encounters. It is said that they experimented upon prisoners by
piercing their bodies with the iron and stone "needles' daggers called
Suci daggers common to their infantry and foot soldiers, in order to
determine these points.
This Chinese legend reflects and complements the traditional Indian
account of its origins, where it is said that in the aftermath of
battles it was noticed that sometimes therapeutic effects arose from
superficial arrow or dagger wounds incurred by the ksatriya in battle.
(source: The Boddhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner Philosophy,
History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art Within India and
China, p. 139-145)
The alternative form of medicine known as acupuncture is believed to
have originated in China. In Korean academics, students are correctly
told that acupuncture originated in India. An ancient Sanskrit text on
acupuncture is preserved in the Ceylonese National Museum at Columbo
in Sri Lanka.
Martial Arts/Games
Related: From Vedic martial arts to Aikido
According to author Terence Duke:
"Fighting without weapons was a specialty of the Ksatriya (caste of
ancient India) and foot soldier alike. For the Ksatriya it was simply
part and parcel of their all around training, but for the lowly
peasant it was essential. We read in the Vedas of men unable to afford
armor who bound their heads with turbans called Usnisa to protect
themselves from sword and axe blows. Fighting on foot for a Ksatriya
was necessary in case he was unseated from his chariot or horse and
found himself without weapons. Although the high ethical code of the
Ksatriya forbid anyone but another Ksatriya from attacking him,
doubtless such morals were not always observed, and when faced with an
unscrupulous opponent, the Ksatriya needed to be able to defend
himself, and developed, therefore, a very effective form of
hand-to-hand combat that combined techniques of wrestling, throws, and
hand strikes. Tactics and evasion were formulated that were later
passed on to successive generations. This skill was called Vajramukti,
[Vajramushti] a name meaning "thunderbolt closed - or clasped - hands."
The title Vajramukti referred to the usage of the hands in a manner as
powerful as the vajra maces of traditional warfare. Vajramukti was
practiced in peacetime by means of regular physical training sessions
and these utilized sequences of attack and defense technically termed
in Sanskrit nata.
"Prior to and during the life of the Buddha various principles were
embodied within the warrior caste known as the Ksatriya (Japanese:
Setsuri). This title - stemming from Sanskrit root Ksat meaning "to
harm," described an elite force of usually royal or noble-born
warriors who were trained from infancy in a wide variety of military
and martial arts, both armed and unarmed.
"In China, the Ksatriya were considered to have descended from the
deity Ping Wang (Japanese: Byo O), the "Lord of those who keep things
calm." Ksatriyas were like the peace force - to keep kings and people
in order. Military commanders were called Senani - a name reminiscent
of the Japanese term Sensei which describes a similar status. The
Japanese samurai also had similar traits to the Ksatriya. Their battle
practices and techniques are often so close to that of the Ksatriya
that we must assume the former came from India perhaps via China. The
traditions of sacred swords, of honorable self-sacrifice, and service
to one's lord are all found first in India.
"In ancient Hinduism, nata was acknowledged as a spiritual study and
conferred as a ruling deity, Nataraja, representing the awakening of
wisdom through physical and mental concentration. However, after the
Muslim invasion of India and its brutal destruction of Buddhist and
Hindu culture and religion, the Ksatriya art of nata was dispersed and
many of its teachers slain. This indigenous martial arts, under the
name of Kalari or Kalaripayit exists only in South India today.
Originating at least 1,300 years ago, India's Kalaripayit is the
oldest martial art taught today. It is also the most potentially
violent, because students advance from unarmed combat to the use of
swords, sharpened flexible metal lashes, and peculiar three-bladed
daggers.
"When Buddhism came to influence India (circa 500 BC), the Deity
Nataraja was converted to become one of the four protectors of
Buddhism, and was renamed Nar(y)ayana Deva (Chinese: Na Lo Yen Tien).
He is said to be a protector of the Eastern Hemisphere of the
mandala."
INDIA

Ksatriya Vajramukti

Simhanta

Bodhisattva Vajramukti

Trisatyabhumi

Trican Nata

Dharmapala

Mahabhuta Pratima

CHINA

Seng Cha

Pu Sa Chin Kang Chuan (Bodhisattva Vajramukti)

(Po Fu) (Huo Ming) (Pa She) (Pai Chin)

Seng Ping

Chuan Fa or Kung Fu

(Karate) (Tae Kwon Do) (Thai Boxing) (Ju Jitsu) (Judo) (Aikido)

(source: The Boddhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner Philosophy,
History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art Within India and
China, p. 3, 158-174 and 242)
The famous Shao-lin style of boxing is also attributed to Indian
influence. Bodhidharma (5-6th century AD) who believed in a sound mind,
in a sound body, taught the monks in the Shao-lin temple this style of
boxing for self-defense for rejuvenating the body after exacting
meditation and mental concentration.
According to the History Channel martial arts were introduced in China
by an Indian named Bodhidharma, who taught it to the monks so that
they could defend their monasteries. He was also said to have
introduced the concept of vital energy or chi ("prana" probably
corresponds to this). This concept is the basis of acupuncture.
Chuan Fa, the Buddhist martial arts, preserved many Ksatriya
techniques in their original forms. The monks who practiced Chuan Fa
were often the sole preservers of the Ksatriya art of Avasavidya,
called in Chinese Huo Ming or Hua Fa.
During the first millennium, Indian racing games reached China. The
well-known expert on the history of Chinese games, Karl Himly, on the
authority of a passage from the Jun Tsun Su, a work of the Sung period
(960-1279), suggests that the Chinese game t'shu-p'u was invented in
western India and spread to China in the time of the Wei dynasty
(220-265). T'shu'p'u is, in fact, the Chinese adaptation of the Indian
chatus-pada (modern chupur). Chess was introduced from India, ca. 700.
through the ancient trade route from Kashmir. The oldest and best of
the native Chinese games, wei-ch'i, did not appear until 1000. Cubical
dice (chu-p or yu-p'i), although found in ancient India and Egypt, are
generally believed to have reached China from India, possibly quite
early. Arthur Waley is of the opinion that the prominence of the
number six in the Book of Changes was derived from the six sides of
cubical dice.Bhaarat's influence on Japan
Hinduism and Buddhism went from India to China and Korea to Japan.
Images of Ganesha and Vishnu have been found throughout Japan.
Numerous Buddhist deities were introduced into Japan and many of these
are still very popular.
According to D. P. Singhal, "...some Hindu gods, who had been
incorporated into the Buddhist pantheon, were amongst them. For
example, Indra, originally, the god of thunder but now also the king
of gods, is popular in Japan as Taishaku (literally the great King
Sakra); Ganesha is worshiped as Sho-ten or Shoden (literally holy god)
in many Buddhist temples, and is believed to confer happiness upon his
devotees. A sea-serpent worshiped by sailors is called Ryujin, a
Chinese equivalent of the Indian naga. Hariti and Dakini are also
worshiped, the former as Kishimo-jin, and the latter by her original
name. Bishamon is a Japanese equivalent of the Indian Vaisravana
(Kubera), the god of wealth.
Even Shinto adopted Indian gods, despite its desperate efforts after
the Meiji Revolution to disengage itself from Buddhism. The Indian sea
god Varuna, is worshiped in Tokyo as Sui-ten (water-god); the Indian
goddess of learning, Sarasvati, has become Benten (literally goddess
of speech), with many shrines dedicated to her along sea coasts and
beside lakes and ponds. Shiva is well known to the Japanese as Daikoku
(literally god of darkness), which is a Chinese and Japanese
equivalent of the Indian Mahakala, another name of Shiva. Daikoku is a
popular god in Japan. At the Kotohira shrine on the island of Shikoku,
sailors worship a god called Kompera, which is a corruption of the
Sanskrit word for crocodile, Kumbhira. The divine architect mentioned
in the Rig Veda, Vishvakarma, who designed and constructed the world,
was regarded in ancient Japan as the god of carpenters, Bishukatsuma.
The Indian Yama, the god of death, is the most dreaded god of Japan,
under the name of Emma-o, the king of hell.
The climbers wearing traditional white dress, who scale the sacred
Mount Ontake as a religious observance, sometimes have inscribed on
their robe Sanskrit Siddham characters of an ancient type. Sometimes
they put on white Japanese scarfs (tenugui) which carry the Sanskrit
character OM, the sacred syllable of the Hindus.
According to Terence Duke, "The Gagaku dances of Japan contain many
movements derived from the Indian Nata and the Chinese Chuan Fa."
(source: The Boddhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner Philosophy,
History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art Within India and
China, p. 206)
The cultivation of cotton in Japan is traced to an Indian who had
drifted to the shore of Aichi Prefecture in 799. To commemorate the
event, the Japanese named the village where the shipwrecked Indian had
landed Tenjiku; Tenjiku was the Japanese name for India, and means
Heaven.
The popular Japanese game of sunoroku or sugoroku (backgammon) played
at the royal of the Nara rulers and still popular in Japan is of
Indian origin. In Japan the game is played as nard. Nard is generally
regarded as an Iranian game, but the ninth century Arab scholar, Al
Yaqubi, considered nard an Indian invention used to illustrate man's
dependence on chance and destiny. According to Wei-Shu, sugoroku was
brought to China in ancient times from Hu country, which at that time
meant a country somewhere in the vicinity of India. Again, as Karl
Himly has pointed out, the Hun Tsun, Sii, written during the Sung
period (960-1279), states that t'shu-pu, another Chinese name for
sugoroku, was invented in western India, that it was known in its
original form as chatus-pada, and that it reached China during the Wei
period (220-265).
There is some Indian influence on Japanese art. A similarity between
Shinto rituals and Hindu rituals (for example ringing the bell as one
enters the temple). Narushima (Narasimha) Bishamondo is a famous
temple in Japan. (Source: India and World Civilization - Dr. D. P.
Singhal)Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that China was more influenced by India
than India by China. Whilst Chinese monks came to acquire knowledge
and take it back, the Indian monks went to China on specific religious
missions to impart knowledge. There is hardly any evidence that the
Chinese monks brought with them any work which was translated into an
Indian language. It seems that during this period of Sino-Indian
contact, the psychological atmosphere was one in which India was
naturally accepted as the giver and China as the taker. Whilst the
best in Indian thought was carefully studied and carried back to
China, Chinese ideas filtered through India whether they represented
the best of their culture or not.
According to Jawaharlal Nehru in his book "The Discovery of India":
"The most famous of the Chinese travelers to India was Hsuang Tsang
who came in the seventh century when the great T'sang dynasty
flourished in China and King Harshavardhana ruled over in North India.
Hsuang Tsang took a degree of Master of the Law at Nalanda University
and finally became vice-principal of the university.
His book, the Si-Yu-Ki or the Record of the Western Kingdom (meaning
India), makes fascinating reading. He tells us of the system of the
university where the five branches of knowledge were taught. 1.
Grammar 2. Science of Arts and Crafts 3. Medicine 4. Logic and 5.
Philosophy. Hsuang Tsang was particularly struck by the love of
learning of the Indian people. Many Indian classics have been
preserved in Chinese translation relating not only to Buddhism but
also to Hinduism, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, etc. There are
supposed to be 800 such works in the Sung-pao collection in China.
Tibet is also full of them. There used to be frequent co-operation
between Indian, Chinese and Tibetan scholars. A notable instance of
this co-operation, still extant, is a Sanskrit-Tibetan-Chinese
dictionary of Buddhist technical terms. This dates from the ninth
century and is named the 'Mahavyutpatti.'
Soon after Hsuang Tsang's death in China, yet another famous pilgrim
made the journey to India - I-tsing (or Yi-tsing). He also studied at
Nalanda University for a long time and carried back several hundred
Sanskrit texts. He refers to India as the West (Si-fang), but he tells
us that it was known as Aryadesha - Arya means noble, and desha region
- the noble region. It is so called because men of noble character
appear there successively, and people all praise the land by that
name. It is also called the Madhyadesha - the middle land, for it is
in the center of a hundred myriads of countries. (source: The
Discovery of India - Jawaharlal Nehru, p. 193-194)
Yet Chinese culture had some influence on India. The gabled roofs of
houses on the western coast of India show a Chinese influence, as do
the temples and houses in the Himalayan regions. Some Chinese
influence is noted on Gupta coins. The use of a certain kind of silk
(chinamsuka) in India, different kinds of fruits including pears
(cinaraja-putra), peaches (cinani), and lichis, the technique of
fishing in the backwaters, and the porcelain industry all owe
something to Chinese influence. Indians also learned the art of
papermaking from China.
India and China
By V. B. Metta
source (expired): http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/5185/2-2china.html
It is a curious fact that Chinese culture, though so distinctive, all-
pervasive and compulsive, could not come to India, or if it did come,
it could not leave any lasting marks behind it.
Archaeologists and scholars tell us that Chinese ideas and ideals came
to India with the Kushan Kings of the North, who were Tartars, but the
influence that that dynasty has left on India is almost negligible. We
are also told that there is influence of Chinese art on the Ajanta
paintings. But that is only a theory, since there is nothing
characteristically Chinese about these frescoes. The influence of
India on China however is undeniable. It is not merely in religion
that India influenced China, but in most subjects that go to make up
national culture.
The Chinese, always proud of their civilization, looked upon the
outside world with contempt. They called the tribes living to their
North "Hun slaves," and the tribes living to the North-West
"barbarians," while the Japanese were denominated by them "Dwarf
Pirates." But their attitude towards India was different. India was
known to them by a number of names, not one of which was contemptuous.
She was called Hsin Tu, the Kingdom of the Hindus, or Ti Yu, the
Western Land; to Buddhists she was Fu Kuo, the Land of the Buddhas.
Pre-Buddhistic Influence
It is probable that there was contact between India and China even
before the birth of Buddha; certain similarities of thought and belief
between pre-Buddhist Indians and pre-Confucian Chinese go to
strengthen that theory. According to Hindus, the world sprang from the
union of Purusha and Prakriti, the Male and Female Principles; the
ancient Chinese writers thought the same - the Purusha and Prakriti of
Indians being called Yang and Yin in China. There is also the worship
of mountains in both countries; what the Himalayas have been to Hindus
that Mount Tai has been to the Celestials. I do not think that these
are mere coincidences due to the similarity of all early beliefs.
There was a good deal of action and reaction of early Asiatic
civilizations upon each other of which a proper history has yet to be
written.
With the rise of Buddhism we are, historically speaking, on firmer
ground. It is said that Asoka's missionaries had gone to China. There
are however no records left of it. But we do know as a matter of
historical fact that in 67 A.D., the Emperor Ming Ti received
Kashyapamadanya from India, who bore with him presents of images and
sculptures for the Chinese emperor. Since then the intercourse between
the two countries continued uninterrupted till at least the eighth
century. During that time it is estimated that between thirty to forty
Indian scholars went to China, and some two hundred Chinese scholars
came to India, who took back with them to their country Indian books,
paintings, and statues.
The influence of India on China can be traced on Music, Architecture,
Painting, Sculpture, Literature, Mythology, Philosophy and Science.
Influence of Hindu Music
We learn from Chinese writers that Indian music had displaced Chinese
music in the seventh century in northern China; records of this music
are said to be preserved in Japan. Although Chinese architecture is
mainly wooden, still Indian architecture has succeeded in influencing
it. There were certain temples built during the Tang Period in China
which were the offspring of Indian and Chinese styles of architecture.
Those temples are however in ruins now, and so they cannot be studied
properly. But the Chinese pagoda fortunately still exists. It is
called Chinese, though the country of its origin was Nepal. The
Newars, a people living in the Valley of Nepal, evolved it by making
certain alterations in the Hindu temple. Those alterations were: (1)
They built the pagoda on a platform and not on the ground direct like
the Hindu temple; (2) They tilted up the roof of their building,
mainly because the rainfall in the country is very heavy. Mr. Ernest
Havell is of opinion that the pagoda was a modification of the stupa,
while Mr. Sylvain Levi thinks that it represents an Indian style of
architecture which has now disappeared. When the pagoda went from
Nepal to Tibet and from thence to China is not definitely known yet.
The oldest pagoda in China is, I think, of the sixth century.
In painting, India influenced China considerably. From the East Chin
dynasty to the Tang dynasty there was continuous intercourse between
the two countries, and Indian paintings went to China in great numbers
and influenced, if not actually displaced for a time Chinese painting
in the North. This Indian School of Painting flourished in China till
the rise to power of the Southern Sungs who favored the purely Chinese
style of painting. I shall never forget the exquisite, ethereally
delicate pictures painted on silk of this period which I saw at an
exhibition at Messrs. Yamanaka's art galleries in New York in 1923.
The manager of the galleries on seeing that I was an Indian,
approached me, and pointing at the pictures in front of us, remarked
with his inimitable Japanese smile, "They are all Indian really!" Then
there are the wall paintings of the Tun Huang Caves (the Caves of the
Thousand Buddhas) which Sir Aurel Stein and others have recently
excavated in Chinese Turkestan.
A Chinese writer tells us that before the introduction of Buddhism
there was no sculpture in three dimensions in China. But most of the
early Chinese Buddhist sculpture was destroyed by an Emperor who was
anti-Buddhist. There are, however, the rock sculptures and reliefs at
Lo Yang and Lung Men of that period still left intact which show the
influence of Indian sculpture on them. There are also sculptures to be
found at Yung Kwang which closely resemble the Indo-Greek sculptures
of Gandhara.
The Sanskrit language and literature have influenced China to a
certain extent, since the Buddhist scriptures had to be translated
into Chinese. On account of the study of Sanskrit - which, by the way,
is the language of the Mahayana Buddhism and not Pali as some people
imagine - the Chinese were inspired to invent an alphabetical system.
This alphabetical system which has now disappeared, was called
Ba-lamen Shu or Brahminical writing. Sakuntala, the masterpiece of the
great Indian dramatist Kalidasa, was translated into Chinese, and is
said to have influenced the Chinese drama. In mythology, many Buddhist
deities of India were adopted by the Chinese; for example, Kwan Yin,
the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, was the Indian Tara. It has been
suggested that Lao Tze got his idea of Tao - the Way - from the Hindu
Brahman, Universal Soul. It is likely that the Indian sciences of
Astronomy and Medicine influenced the astronomical and medical
sciences of the Chinese. There is very good scope for a competent
scholar to make a full study of Indian influence on China and other
Far-Eastern countries, and write a book on the subject

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Vedic Culture Around The Globe

Russia

The
famous author Mark Twain describes India as 'the cradle of the human
race' and 'birthplace of human speech.' In his ten volume. Story of
civilisation, author William Durant declares 'India was the motherland
of our race' and 'Sanskrit the mother of European Languages.' Voltaire
and Schlegel are convinced that everything has come down to us from the
river Ganges. And according to Max Muller the Famous orientalist 'the
Vedas are the oldest book in existence and carries us back to times of
which we have no records anywhere.'

In
his book 'Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence' Stephen Knapp has
compiled information which confirms that the Vedic culture was once
global, and we would like to share some of this Information with you. At
least 90% of this information we have found to be correct. There are a
few grey areas, but see what you think. If you agree, let us know, if
you disagree, also let us know, and if you can provide additional
information definitely let us know.

In
His book, diary of a travelling preacher, Indradyumna Swami records a
conversation with professor Alexander Vasilyavich Medvedev, chairman of
the religious affairs committee of the Urals region.

Professor
Medvedev: "The problem amongst our leaders may not be so much in having
to accept your movement, but to accept that the Vedic culture could
have very well been the original culture here in Russia. You know in
Russia practically all the scientists accept that the Vedic culture once
flourished here, the centre being in the Volga river region.

The
debate among our scientists is only if the Aryans came from India or
they originated here. There is much evidence to the fact that Vedic
culture existed here, most notably the Russian Veda"

"The Russian Veda" Interrupted Indradyumna Marharaj.

"Yes,
it is famous amongst our people, it is as old as Russia, and the
stories are exactly like those in the Vedic scriptures. The central
figure of the Russian Veda is a personality called Krishen. He is the
upholder of spiritual truths and the killer of many demons. His killing
of a witch and snake are exactly like the history of child Krsna killing
the putana and aghasura demons in the bhagavat puranas. But the Russian
Veda is not intended for children. It is full of spiritual truths."

Name

Sanskrit

Sanskrit meaning

Russia

Rishiya

Land of the Rishis

Moscow

Moksha

Salvation, goal of all Rishis

Bolshevik

Bal-sevik

Rishis seeking spiritual power

Rubble

Raya-bal

Strength of the realm

Krasnoyorak

Krsna

Russian town named after Lord Krsna

Agone (fire)

Agni

Vedic fire God

Andropov

Indra

Vedic demigod

Siberia

Shibeerya

The locals still call their land Shibir

Soviet

Svet

White as in white snow covered region

Svetlana

Svetanana

Svetlana, the name of Stalins daughter is from the Sanskrit word svetanana meaning fair faced

During
the nineteenth century when Europe was greatly appreciating the Vedic
culture, Sir Henry Maine, a scholarly member of the viceroy of Indias
council declared about Germany "a nation has been born out of Sanskrit".
Below we provide evidence of the Vedic influence throughout Germany and
Europe.

Name

Sanskrit

Sanskrit meaning

Deutschland

Daityasthan

Land of the Daityas. ( Daitya refers to mother Diti and Kashyapa muni, the Dutch also share this link.)

Danube river

Danuv

The
Daityas were also known as the Danuv community due to Kashyapa munis
marriage to Danu, who is also known as one of the primary Goddesses of
the celts.

German

Sharman

A common hindu surname

Hindenberg

Hindu-durg

The fort of the Hindus

Heidelberg

Haya-dal-durg

Fort garrisoned by horses

Stein

Stan

Place

Ramstein

Ramstan

Place of Lord Rama

Rome

Rama

Lord Rama

Ravenna (Italian city)

Ravanna

Demon killed by Lord Rama

Budapest

Buddaprastha

City dedicated to Lord Buddah

Paris

Parameshwari

Vedic Goddess

Amsterdam

Antardham

Region below sea level

Scandinavia

Skanda

Skanda
is the son of Lord Siva. Naviya is Sanskrit for naval settlement.
Scandinavians were the mariner descendants of the Vedic ksatriyas who
worshipped Skanda

"In
the rig veda we have more real antiquity than in all the inscriptions
of Egypt or Ninevan … The Vedas is the oldest book in existence." (Max
Muller)

"After
the latest research into the history and chronology of the book of the
old testament, we may safely call the rig veda the oldest book, not only
of the Aryan community, but the whole world." (Reverend Morris Philips)

"The
Vedas has a twofold interest, it belongs to the history of the world
and to the history of India. In the history of the world the Vedas fills
a gap which no literary work in any language could fill." (Max Muller)

Judaism

Name

Sanskrit

Sanskrit meaning

Judaism

Yaduism

The
Yadu dynasty which Lord Krsna appeared in. It is common for the y and j
to become interchangeable hence, Yaduism, Yeduism and finally Judaism

Tal is Sanskrit for palm. Mud comes from mudra which means imprint or script, hence Talmud is Sanskrit for palm leaf manuscript

Syria

Surya

Vedic sungod

Palestine

Palustin

Vedic sage

Ramallah (Palestine city)

The city of Lord Rama

Adam

aadim

The first or most ancient man

Abraham

Brahma

Vedic demigod

Star of David

A simplified version of the sri yantra, connected to the Goddess Laxmi Devi. Drawn in front of many Hindu homes

David

Devi-d

Bestowed by the mother Goddess

Semites

Shyam

Semites were the descendants of Shem which originates from Shyam, Lord Krsna

Horites

Harites

Worshipers of Hari (Krsna)

"I am convinced that everything has come down to us from the banks of the river Ganges" (Voltaire)

"India
was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of European
languages. She was the mother of our philosophy … of our mathematics …
of the ideals embodied in Christianity … of self government and
democracy…mother India is in many ways the mother of us all." (William
Durant. Author of the ten volume, story of civilisation)

"Everything, absolutely everything is of Indian origin." (Friedrich Schlegel)

Greece

Zeus
the Greek God of heaven, travels planet to planet on a mystical six
horse chariot wielding a trident. Indra the Vedic king of heaven also
travels on a mystical six horse chariot wielding a thunderbolt.

Name

Sanskrit

Sanskrit meaning

Parthia

Partha

Arjuna, devotee of Lord Krsna

Hercules

Hari-culeesh

In the lineage of Hari (Krsna)

Hari-tutay

Greek greeting

May Hari (Krsna) bless you

Prometheus

Pramathes

Lord Siva

Demetrius

Deva-mitra

Friend of the Gods

Pythagoras

Peeth-guru

Peeth means place of education

Aristotle

Arishta-taal

God, the warder of calamities

Socrates

Sukrutus

One whose conduct is meritorious

"This
Garuda column of Vasudeva (Visnu), the God of Gods, was erected here by
Heliodorus, a worshiper of Visnu, the son of dion, and inhabitant of
taxila, who came as Greek ambassador from the great king Antialkidas to
king Kasiputra Bhagabadra, the savior, then reigning prosperously in the
fourteenth year of his kingship. Three important precepts when
practiced lead to heaven; self restraint, charity and conscientousness."

The
Heliodorus column, erected in 113 B. C. by the ambassador of Greece.
Over 2000 years ago the Greek ambassador worshiped Visnu.

Greek
Silver coins made by Agathaclose, a Greek ruler from the 2nd century
B.C., bear the imprint of Krsna and Balarama and are displayed in
several museums.

"The
whole of Greece from the era of the supposed Godships of Poseidon and
zeus down to the close of the Trojan war was Indian in language,
sentiment, religion, peace and war" (India in Greece, E. Pococke)

"Almost
all the theories, religious, philosophical and mathematical as taught
by the pythagorans were known in India in the 6th century B. C."
(Professor G. Rawlinson)

"When
Greece and Italy, those cradles of modern civilisation, housed only the
tenants of the wilderness, India was the seat of wealth and grandeur."
(History of British India, Thornton)

Name

Sanskrit

Sanskrit meaning

Korea

Gauriya

Gouri, Vedic Goddess

Casseopeans

Kashyapa muni

Followers of the Vedic sage

Kashmir

Kashyapa muni

Named after the Vedic sage

Caspean sea

Kashyapa muni

Named after the Vedic sage

Iran

Ariana

Land of the Aryans

Guatamala

Guatam

Abode of the Vedic sage Guatam

Egypt

Ajapati

Lord Rama, the illustrious scion of Aja. Their kings were named Ramses meaning Rama the God

And
finally … Throughout the last two thousand years, many changes have
taken place. The most influential being the rise of Christianity,
followed by the religion of Islam. While the world was being converted
to these new religions, anything that contradicted or existed before
them was eradicated. However it is impossible to destroy everything, and
if one looks with a honest heart and an open mind, they will surely see
that the original culture from which all other cultures have sprung is
the ancient Vedic culture. The Vedas themselves are very much like
mother India. They are simply sitting there waiting for you to discover
her. They are not attacking you with a sword or pointing a gun at you,
they are simply sitting there patiently waiting.